Birmingham
DC BLOX to build $785 million data center in Birmingham
The city was chosen for its “strong local economy” and UAB, among other reasons.
DC BLOX CEO Jeff Uphues at Monday afternoon’s announcement. Screenshot of Mayor Randall Woodfin’s live stream.
The Atlanta-based company DC BLOX announced Monday afternoon that it would build a data center in downtown Birmingham, potentially bringing in $785 million in capital investment to the city over the next decade.
DC BLOX is a company dedicated to building data centers “nearer to consumers in growing cities,” according to its website. Its involvement in the city will begin with a 31,000-square-foot data center, located on the former Trinity Steel site. The company already has a similar data center in Huntsville.
Construction on the site is expected to begin next month; AL.com reports that the company plans to open the center by early next year. The center will initially create up to 20 jobs, though that number will likely increase as customers are added.
DC BLOX COO Mark Masi said that Birmingham was chosen “because of its strong local economy, geographic location, fiber optic network connectivity and the University of Alabama at Birmingham.”
Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin, who live streamed the announcement through his Facebook page, said that he hoped the data center would serve as a tool to attract more businesses to Birmingham.
